Opinion: Mecklenburg County’s Transit Tax Referendum Deserves a Hard No
Reject the budget bloat
In a time when Mecklenburg County is flush with record high tax revenues and a growing population, demanding residents pay more is not just tone-deaf, it is fiscally irresponsible. They’re calling it a solution. Let’s call it what it is, fiscal irresponsibility.
County leaders want to raise taxes again, not because we’ve exhausted every option but because it is easier to ask already struggling families to pay more than it is to govern with discipline. Let’s stop pretending this is about progress and start asking why fiscal responsibility is always optional, but higher taxes never are.
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, hundreds of thousands of Mecklenburg County residents will head to the polls to exercise one of our most fundamental rights as Americans. On the ballot is a deliberately downplayed tax hike, marketed as a “one-cent increase.” But let’s be clear, this is not a penny added to your bill; this is a full percentage point increase in the sales tax, jumping from 7.25% to 8.25% – a 14% hike in the rate.
In Charlotte, the sales tax you pay at restaurants will climb from 8.25% to 9.25%, a 12% increase that surpasses New York City’s rate of 8.875%. The state goal? To alleviate traffic. Apparently, the $500 million in additional annual revenue Mecklenburg County has already seen from us over the past five years isn’t enough.
So instead of prioritizing spending or tightening budgets, they’re asking working families to pay more, again. This proposed increase is expected to result in approximately $19 billion over the next 30 years to fund several transit projects.
Read more: Exploring Both Sides of the Transit Tax Debate
The increase in tax revenue alone over the last five years projected out over the next 30 years is an additional $15 billion, and that is with no additional increases — no revenue increases from additional property construction and associated property taxes, no revenue increases from more residents jolting the local economy with additional spending, no revenue increases from property tax reassessments that are scheduled every 4 years (which they recently changed from every 8 years).
Do the autocratic commissioners truly believe residents are naïve enough to believe that those revenue streams will not increase as well?
This 14% tax increase on consumers in Mecklenburg County could result in a drag on the local economy and retail businesses. In an already dire situation with high inflation over the last four years, increased home and rent costs, property tax increases from reassessments, and countless other financial burdens on families, this increase is detached from the reality that every day residents are already facing.
This is not going to place a financial burden on those in the top percentage of earners, but rather disproportionally affect lower-income families.
Read more: OPINION: Why I’m Voting Yes on the Transit Tax Referendum
Before asking taxpayers to cough up even more, county leadership should take a long, hard look in the mirror. Revenues are already at historic highs, yet instead of tightening their belts, they’re reaching deeper into your pockets. If your roof springs a leak, you don’t raid your children’s piggy banks or demand your neighbors chip in; you cut waste, reprioritize and fix it without bankrupting the household.
That’s what responsible families do. So why doesn’t our county commission hold itself to the same standard? And here’s a question worth asking: When was the last time your elected officials proposed lowering your taxes — giving you more autonomy over your own money instead of dreaming up new ways to spend it? This isn’t leadership, it is laziness and greed dressed up as progress.
While residents are being asked to fork out more money, top unelected officials are drawing salaries that far exceed those in comparable counties. The manager of Fulton County — home to Atlanta — earns $329,000. Our county manager: $455,000, plus bonuses.
Even New York City’s leadership doesn’t compare to these astounding figures. Collectively, our top five unelected and unaccountable county officials take home nearly $2 million a year.
Meanwhile, county staffing has ballooned, shielded from scrutiny for years. In a time when household budgets are stretched thin, a full audit of staffing levels and redundant roles is not just reasonable, it’s overdue. Additionally, programs that serve narrow interests or duplicate efforts should be reevaluated for necessity and impact. If we’re serious about fiscal responsibility, we must start at the top.
On Nov. 4, vote no to irresponsibility. Vote no to detached government officials that promise financial stewardship then vote unanimously to put a 14% increase in sales tax on the ballot. Vote no to alleviate further undue hardship on low-income families.
Instead, demand accountability from your leaders and ask how they can lower costs. This isn’t sustainable. It’s insulting. If we wouldn’t run our households this way, why let our county?
Ian – are you one of those ideologues who adhere to their positions even when faced with clear evidence they make Zero sense? Do you want to stew in traffic, comforted by the smug assurance that you stuck to your no-tax principles to force others to pay – or let the County stew into a gridlock morass where those who can’t drive also don’t get where they need to go?
That’s how your piece reads. I’ve read far better pieces against this tax measure that actually discuss the issues (though I disagree with those too).
This is what it is…entirely an opinion piece. The only accurate number in this is the salary of our previous county manager. As someone who has worked for the county in one of our public utilities for over 5 years, I can assure you that staffing has absolutely not “ballooned”, nor are we “shielded from scrutiny”. My department had to beg and beg for more staff, only to get about 2 new positions in 4 years.
I agree with you on several points; one, the tax increase is not at all “one penny” it is 1%, which is much, much more; two, we already pay a lot of tax in Mecklenburg, where is all that money going to, and how would this be different?; and three, the topmost county officials absolutely make a pretty wild amount of money. That last point is especially maddening to all of us front-line county staff, who are doing the real work and are not at all compensated for what we’re worth. However, your lack of real information and use of deliberately inflammatory language in this piece really shows that all you’re concerned about is your own bottom line and POV.
If you wanted to write a piece that sends a real message, why not say “Where is the transparency from the County officials about the plans for this tax increase?” “Where are all of our current taxes going and why is this increase necessary?”. I personally want to know exactly how this revenue is going to be used and how these plans will be enacted before I agree to provide even more of my dollars, and that’s why I am hesitating to say yes to this plan.